Switched
by CrimsonFlowers
Summary: Natsu discovers a magical book with absolutely no contents inside Lucy's drawer. But when the book takes Natsu and Lucy to a gender-flipped world, how exactly did it happen? And why won't Lucy tell him the book's true power?
1. The Book

Natsu climbed through Lucy's window sneakily. It was a dark night with the full moon out. He hadn't seen Lucy for a while, and assumed she was sleeping on her bed. A gentle breeze lifted the Salamander's pink hair as he landed on the floor of his partner's room. He knew he had a habit of constantly going into Lucy's home, but he couldn't help it. Her apartment was just too cozy. He was glad Happy wasn't with him, it was hard to keep the flying cat quiet, and he was usually the reason why their cover would be blown. And then Lucy would usually have a towel around herself and she would shriek and use her infamous Lucy Kick on both of them. He could still remember the pain.

The dragonslayer swiveled his head. He noticed a heap in the bedsheets, where Lucy was sleeping. Natsu boldly walked to her bed and lifted the covers, expecting to see Lucy snoring softly. Instead, he found two stuffed pillows underneath the covers. He sniffed. No scent. The celestial spirit mage wasn't home. Natsu scratched his head, puzzled. Where was she? Could she possibly out on a mission? Lucy and Natsu always did missions together, it was their routine, so it most unlikely. "Eh. . , Luce isn't here, huh. . " He rubbed his chin thinking of the possibilities. He could just pass out on Lucy's comfy bed and get himself a few hours of sleep. But then. . . his eyes roamed to Lucy's desk full of papers and notebooks. He could also snoop. The dragonslayer grinned mischievously as he crept to Lucy's desk. He scanned the notes on her desk. He placed a hand on one stack of papers, and put them aside. He had already read Lucy's novel (or tried to, anyway) and wasn't interested in it. He dug into one of the drawers blindly, and moved his fingers around, trying to grasp something, anything. His fingers met a hardcover spine. He blinked in surprise. He grabbed hold of the book, and took it out. Natsu stared at it. The cover was completely blank, no words, no pictures, nothing.

"What the hell?" He muttered, still fingering the book's spine. Natsu was pretty sure that Lucy didn't read books with no titles. Nevertheless, he opened the book and turned to a random page. Blank. He turned to another page. Blank. He repeated this process a countless number of times until he threw the book on Lucy's bed in frustration. The book had absolutely NOTHING in it. He didn't realize his left hand was in flames, until he smelled smoke. He sighed and put it out. As pointless as the book was, it was still Lucy's. He grimly picked up the books spine, and shoved it in the desk's drawer. "I wish I would just understand why she'd buy a book like that." Natsu grumbled in disdain.

"Natsu!" The door was kicked open, and Natsu saw a very angry looking Lucy. "You broke into my house, _again_?!" Her face was smudged with dirt, and one of her pigtails were undone. Her skirt was tattered, and Natsu definitely knew she had done a mission.

Natsu could practically imagine the steam seeping out of Lucy's nose and ears. "What? You weren't at the guild all day, I just wanted to see if you were okay." The dragon mage folded his arms.

Some of Lucy's rage diminished. The celestial spirit mage slumped. "I'm sorry, Natsu, it was an emergency," She apologized, with a weary look spreading across her face.

"I want to know why you have a book with nothing in it," Natsu said, ignoring her apology.

Lucy yelped in shock. "You rummaged my drawers?!" She immediately darted to her desk, and opened the drawers frantically. She easily found her book, and clutched it to her chest.

"What the hell is it?" Natsu demanded irritably. "And why is it hidden all the way at the end of your drawer?"

"Natsu, please," She pleaded, her brown orbs beseeched him to drop the subject.

"I don't understand, aren't we nakama? What is that book?!"

"I don't understand how it meets your concern!" Lucy shot back.

"You're making a big deal out of it! How can it not?!" Natsu shouted, clenching his fists.

"I-" She widened her eyes. The book was beginning to emit a bright light. Natsu tried to squint, but the book was shining brighter by the second. Lucy covered her eyes with one hand, the other hand still clutching the book tightly.

"Lucy, let go of that book!" Natsu shouted, but the brightness was drowning Lucy's figure, make it harder for him to see her. And then, everything became dark.


	2. GenderBent

**Whoa, 8 favs and 11 follows?! (Eh, I suppose that's not a lot, but I only expected like 1 fav and zero follows :D) Well, thank you if you read this. **

_Genderbent_

Where _was she? _Everything was just pitch black, and there was nothing but. . . voices. There were voices everywhere, and Lucy could do nothing about it. They echoed in her head, making her temples throb. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to drown out the murmurs. Unfortunately, it didn't help. Instead, the voices increased in volume until she couldn't hear anything except a ringing sound.

"Wait, she's moving!" A boy's voice cried. Lucy heard shuffling of feet, and low whispers.

Her eyes fluttered, barely making out a boy with blue hair, with his hands hovering over her abdomen. "Thank goodness!" He sighed in relief.

"W-Where am I. . " She muttered, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Wait, huh? Why was her voice so deep? Her fingers felt. . calloused and rough. She examined them closely. Yup. Definitely calloused. What was going on?

She sat up, and addressed the blue boy, "Give me a mirror." She winced when she heard her masculine voice again.

"You should lie back down, Lu-"

"I said get me a mirror!" She ordered firmly.

She could feel a mirror being placed in her hand. She looked at her reflection. She squinted and tried to focus on the image that was on the mirror. She blinked multiple times. She finally saw her face.

A shriek rang from her lips.

More strangers gathered around Lucy, wondering what was wrong.

"Luke, are you alright?" Lucy whirled around to find her face-to-face with a raven-haired girl.

"L-Luke?! What do you mean?! My name's Lucy!" She cried, and turned back to her reflection in the mirror. She was. . . a guy. This was impossible! Could that book possibly be more powerful than she thought?! Lucy breathed shallowly.

"There's something wrong with his mind, did you heal him correctly, Wendell?" A blonde woman with a pipe in her mouth addressed the blue boy.

"I'm pretty sure, I can't understand what's wrong with Luke-san-"

"Great, now what? Master isn't going to happy about this!" A voice said.

"Wow, Luke thinks he's a girl! This could be interesting," said another.

"Oh, no, is it possible he has amnesia?"

"Everybody SHUT UP!" The raven-haired girl bellowed. The building fell silent. She sighed, and turned to Lucy. "Luke, I think you're having a hard time remembering things. We took you on a mission we shouldn't have and you got knocked in the head. Do you remember me? I'm Grace."

Lucy stared at her open-mouthed. "G-Gray?!" She sputtered.

"No, Grace," She said soothingly.

_She definitely resembles Gray. . . her hair, her eyes. . _ Lucy's eyes traveled down to see her clothes. She widened her eyes. "YOUR SHIRT!"

Grace peered down and cursed. "Dammit, I didn't even know!"

People rolled their eyes (some of them stared) as Grace darted around the building, desperately trying to find her clothes.

Maybe. . . . Gray and Grace could be siblings? "Grace!" Lucy blurted without thinking.

"Yeah?" Grace was behind the bar counter,now fully clothed, regarding Lucy with a look of expectancy.

"D-Do you have a brother?"

The raven-haired girl lowered her shoulders, obviously not expecting that question. "No," she said wearily. "I don't."

_This doesn't make sense, Gray doesn't have a sister, so. . _Her eyes suddenly flitted to each person in the room. The blue boy. . . Wendy? The barman. . . Mirajane? The man with a barrel of beer in his arms. . . Cana? The boy who had red-rimmed glasses and a book. . . Levy? Suddenly all the pieces fell together. She wasn't in Earthland. She was in a whole other world, where the genders were possibly flipped. That explained her being a male, yet. . . she clenched her fist. Why? If anything, she should've been herself, still in her true form. Why was she in a different body? And. . . where was Natsu?

"What is she doing on the floor?" A girl with piercings said irritably. Lucy knew immediately that she was Gajeel.

"Be quiet, Gail, we really have a serious problem." the male Levy scolded.

"Oi," A voice said. The guild members turned. It was. . . Natsu? Just like everyone else, his gender was flipped. His hair was spiky and long, and still had its salmon color. His eyes were an onyx color, and he wore his vest, and yet still managed to conceal his upper body with a wraparound bandage. Instead of baggy trousers he wore shorts. The only thing that was exactly the same was Igneel's scarf draped around his neck.

Lucy didn't realize she was holding her breath. He was. . . Wait. . . what was she doing?! She looked away from Natsu in embarrassment. It was one thing to admire Natsu when he was himself, but now. . .?

"Luke, are you alright?" the female Natsu's expression contorted into worry.

"Not. . . quite. . " Wendell answered for Lucy as he scratched his head. "Luke has amnesia. . . I'm so sorry Natsumi."

Natsu/Natsumi stood still for a moment, perhaps trying to process everything. She clenched her fists, and Lucy could notice the veins popping from her hands. "Luke, let's go back to my place," He said finally. "Maybe we can jog your memory, there."

"O-Okay," Lucy agreed, feeling agitated. Natsumi roughly grabbed Lucy's (ugh) calloused hand and led them out of the guild headquarters.


	3. Natsumi

"Hey, careful!" Luke complained as Natsumi dragged him across Magnolia. She ignored his protests, and forged on, pushing past anyone in their way. _Geesh, this is Natsu's female counterpart alright. . . _He thought irritably, as he almost tripped over a rock.

Once they were at the borders of Magnolia, Luke could see a small house built with gray cobblestones. The roof was painted reddish orange, and Luke noticed bushes growing from crevices in the roof. There were five windows: two on one side of the house, two on the other, and, one right beneath the roof. The bricked chimney let out puffs of smoke. He remembered following Natsu and Happy home at one point, but it just felt so long ago since then. Luke stumbled over the fallen branches and winced as brittle leaves crushed beneath him. He really was unfamiliar with this place, he didn't know where to place his feet. The sky was pink, and dappled with enormous, white clouds. The sun shone brightly, that the celestial mage had to cover his eyes.

"We're here," Natsumi said gruffly, once they were standing in front of the house.

Luke knew it looked exactly like Natsu's house back at Earthland. The only difference was the sign that stood, guarding the house. In sloppy red handwriting, were the words, "Natsumi and Happy's House". Two faces were underneath the words. One was of Natsumi's face and another of Happy's face. Luke couldn't help but chuckle at the poorly drawn faces. Natsumi led Luke to the bumpy steps, which were draped in moss. The celestial wizard almost tripped over the second step. He coughed uncomfortably, trying to regain his composure. He noticed Natsumi's lip curve. Luke crossed his arms grumpily, and swiveled his head to the right, refusing to see Natsumi's amused expression.

The fire dragon slayer pushed the wooden door open, and Luke could hear a loud creak. After scrutinizing the view, Luke fanned his face without thinking. The room was a complete mess. The doormat was shaped like a fish, reading the words, Welcome. Newspapers were thrown all over the floor, ripped up chew toys were scattered on the kitchen counter, and the hammock was stacked with food scraps, causing it to lean downward, only adding to the dismal setting.

Natsumi glanced at Luke, who was still surveying the house's interiors. "Who are you?"

Luke was taken aback at the question. "W-What?" He stammered.

"I said," Natsumi's hands burst into red, hot flames, "who are you?"

Luke cautiously stepped back. Did Natsumi already know he wasn't Luke? He had to give her credit, she was definitely wiser than her stupid male counterpart. _Should I tell her the truth? _His eyes flitted over to Natsumi's stern gaze. Her arms were crossed, which meant she put out the flames, and her charcoal eyes continued to stare him down, waiting for an answer.

"I'm. . . Lucy Heartfilia," He finally confessed. "I'm from Earthland, and I'm not really sure how I ended up in here-" He gestured to his form. "-but since you knew I wasn't Luke, maybe you can possibly help-"

Natsumi's eyes dilated, and then -"Lucy!" Natsumi yelled, and embraced the celestial mage without warning. "Hell, I thought I got lost or somethin'!' The fire mage babbled as the male Lucy gasped for air, "And I'm stuck in this weird body too, and I have a weird scent. Also I have these things-"

She released Luke from her grip and before she could do something very VERY wrong, Luke grabbed her hands and halted her actions. Natsumi blinked in surprise.

"Natsu, you're not supposed to do that!" Luke regained his composure and ended up admonishing him. "Baka. Why didn't you tell me it was you, sooner?!"

"Why didn't _YOU _tell me it was you, sooner?!" Natsumi retorted childishly, with a pout on her face that surprisingly suited her.

"You think I could?! I thought you were the actual counterpart of yourself, I was only being alert!" Luke said in exasperation. He cringed as the smell of rotten sardines met his nose. "And why did you invite me to your HOUSE?!"

Natsumi rolled her eyes and wrung her hands from Luke's grip. "Because, I went to your apartment. It was still really comfy, but. . " She wrinkled her nose. "It smelled weird."

"Smelled. . weird?" Luke echoed.

"Yeah! Like some sort of man perfume," Natsumi shivered at the thought, and her tongue stuck out to show her disgust. "So stupid."

"My counterpart uses man spray?! Ugh, just great." Luke palmed his own face and groaned.

"Yeah!" Natsumi clutched her white muffler. "Plus, you got a collection of these weird blue headbands."

"Head. . bands?" Luke said slowly.

"Mhm," Natsumi nodded vigorously. "In fact," She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "You're wearing one right now."

"I am?" Luke placed a hand on his forehead. "Oh. . ." Sure enough, he could feel a thin cloth wrapped around his forehead. "Wait. . " He felt stupid, with his calloused (ugh) hand on his head. "What are we doing?! We're supposed to be figuring out how we got here!"

The fire mage blinked, "Oh," She rubbed her chin again as if she had a beard. Her eyes suddenly glazed over. "The book. The book did all this, right?! What is that thing?!"

Oh no. Oh, why, oh, why did he change the subject? Luke scratched his sandy blonde hair and laughed awkwardly. "Book?. . What book?"

The female Natsu narrowed her eyes into dragon-like slits. "I'm serious,"

Gosh, what was going _on_, here? Why was this baka so obsessed with his book? "Don't you owe me an explanation?" Natsumi demanded as if reading Luke's very thoughts. "I told you to let go of that book but you wouldn't. Why didn't you?"

Luke bit his lip anxiously. "I-I guess I should tell you."


	4. Lies

"It really all started when I went to that merchant, I guess. . " Luke murmured slowly, collecting his thoughts. "I bought this book off of him. Apparently it was for sale, but the problem was, it was just a weird aura on it. But he had also said it was magical. . . something like that. It was supposed to be a reading book. . . and I could read it. I got halfway through the book, learning a lot of things. But. ." His eyebrows creased, "I just couldn't finish it. It became blank when. . " His gaze fell upon Natsumi, "When you touched it.

"So that's when we got transported and got here." Luke concluded. He looked at Natsumi to see her expression.

Natsumi scratched the back of her head and laughed. "So it's my fault, huh?"

"No, it's not Natsu, it's mine, I got that book in the first place," He felt his blue headband pushing down, right on his eyes, so he use the edge of his palm to push it back up. What had happened? The tension in the house was just so. . . awkward.

Natsumi was just staring at him intensely, her hand still behind her head, and it made Luke fidget. "How will we escape?"

"I don't know," Luke said bitterly. "I was just so stupid, getting that book."

"It's not your fault, Luce," Natsumi consoled the celestial mage, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder. "We'll get out of here, I promise," She grinned determinedly, and held out a hand. "Let's shake on it."

Luke reluctantly took the hand, and Natsumi's smile grew. The female dragon slayer headed to the door, but stopped in her tracks and turned."Oi, can we go to your house to get rid of that man perfume?"

"Ugh, please don't remind me of that. . " Luke grumbled, as she followed him out Natsumi and Happy's home.

She was lying. Or he. Whatever. Natsumi could see it clearly in Luke's eyes. How did he know this? Knowing someone for a long time made it easy to tell whether they were lying or telling the truth. But Natsumi couldn't stop the thoughts building in her head. Why would her nakama lie to her face? What really took them to this world? Was that stupid book too precious to Luke, like one of those other books. . . what was it called, diary? Now she really wished she had burned that book back when she was in her male form. She sighed and rubbed her temples. She didn't usually think about things like this. It was just a lot easier to stick to instincts and kick people's ass. Like Gray's. Or Grace's. Whatever. She huffed in annoyance as she lay on the bed.

"NATSU, GET OFF MY BED!" And the next thing Natsumi knew, she was tossed off the comfortable bed like a pile of sticks. She stared up and saw Luke giving him the evil eye.

"What? Now that you got rid of that perfume, I want to sleep on your bed again." Natsumi said defensively. She discreetly pushed herself off the ground, and flopped onto Luke's bed. She sighed and buried her nose into Luke's fluffy pillow. So soft. All of a sudden, a terrible odor met her nose. Her eyes felt itchy and she yelled and jumped off the bed frantically. "Ugh, it's that horrible smell!' She cupped her nose, and saw Luke with a smirk on his face. A can of man spray was in his hand.

"GAH, NO, WHY DID YOU SPRAY IT BACK ON YOUR BED?!" Natsumi moaned dramatically, and she lay on the floor sadly. The floor was dreadfully cold and nowhere near comfy.

"It doesn't really bother me, actually," Luke read the label on the can of man spray. "And I should seriously buy more of this if it'll get your lazy ass off my bed."

Natsumi pouted, not that Luke could see anyway, since she was prone on the wooden floor.

"Come on, Natsu, get up."

'No, I don't want to," the dragon slayer's whine was muffled, since her face was still pressed against Luke's floor.

Luke tried to lift Natsumi up, but the fire mage was too heavy. He gave up easily, and rolled his eyes.

"You have no upper body strength whatsoever," Natsumi taunted him.

"Oh, you'll get sick of that floor soon enough," Luke's smug expression turned into something more depressing. He scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Listen, I need to. . . do some research." Natsumi's ears pricked, anticipated to listen to every word. "I'm going to the library. You. . . stick around," He chuckled, and Natsumi heard every step he took, his celestial keys jangling, until he reached the door, opened it with a creak, and slammed it shut.

The fire dragon mage sat up. She was definitely sick of the floor already. But. . . she felt dead. Luke just kept lying to her face. She understood that people had to keep secrets sometimes, and sure, she was a big-mouth that revealed everything, but STILL, the book was the very reason they were in a gender-flipped world. And Natsumi deserved a right to know what exactly turned her into a GIRL didn't she?

"Like hell, he's goin to the library," She muttered in disgust. She picked herself off the floor and walked to Luke's desk. Without thinking, she opened the drawers and rummaged through them. Everything just seemed all too familiar at the moment. No book. She shut the drawers grimly, and flung herself onto Luke's bed, ignoring the horrible scent coming from it. She buried her face in his pillow and inhaled its scent. It was nicer than the man spray.


	5. Guild Problems

**GOMEN GOMEN GOMENNN. Sorry for the late update, I was really busy with nationals in my sport :( Anyway, this chapter should be longer than usual (i think?). Do excuse any grammar/punctuation errors. And I hope you enjoy it :3 **

In the guild headquarters, everyone was rambunctious. Grace and Gail were actually head-to-head in a battle, with Natsumi out of sight. ElfLady was yelling "WOMAN!" at all the guild mates. EverJade punched her in the face with his fist. "Would you just shut UP?!"

Ezra lifted Gail and Grace by the collar, splitting up their fight. The two girls moved their hands and feet in an awkward-like motion. "Put us down, Ezra!" Gail yelled, as she twisted and turned.

"It's already irritating how much Natsumi and Grace fight. Is Gail supposed to be a replacement for her absence?" Ezra asked in a scathing tone, ignoring Gail's 'request'. He let go of the ice mage and iron dragon slayer, both of them mumbling in irritation as they went their separate ways.

"Hey, Rema?" A shy voice asked.

"Hmm?" Rema turned around to find herself face-to-face with Wendell Marvel. "Oh," A light layer of blush spread across her cheeks. "Hi. . "

"Have you, um, seen Luke-san?" Wendell asked anxiously.

"Oh, uh, no, I haven't." Rema said in complete disappointment. The sky dragon slayer had only come up to her to ask where Luke-san was. . .

Realizing his mistake, Wendell palmed his own face while Rema looked away, staring out one of the guild windows. _Hurry, bring up something else!_****He urged himself, as he struggled to grasp a topic to talk about. "H-Have you gone on a mission yet?" Wendell was now surely furious with himself. Of COURSE Rema had gone on a mission, she was out for one just 10 minutes ago! As he stood there, fidgeting with his own thoughts, Rema stared at him in confusion.

"Yeah, have you?"

Wendell looked up in shock. Had she. . . responded? "Well, no. . . "

"Hmm, you should really go on one. The request board has a lot of easy tasks and they give like 5,000 jewel at the least." She gave him a tender smile.

Of course, Wendell jumped on this opportunity and blurted, "Hey, would you-um-like to go with me? We can be a team like Natsumi-san and Lucy-san and Happy-san."

Rema beamed at this and bounced on her heels. "I'd love to go with you!" Her orange scarf complemented her glowing eyes.

The sky dragon slayer couldn't contain his excitement. "Then let's go!" He darted to the quest board with Rema right on her trails. They laughed together as they skimmed quests on the bulletin.

As MiruJan served Grace her drink, setting the cold glass on the bar counter. Still holding up the tray, he warily surveyed Grace's expression. She seemed stressed, and at battle with her own thoughts. Her eyebrows were arched, and her eyes were staring at nothing in particular. Her fingers grasped the glass, feeling the coolness radiating from the liquid. She immediately tightened her grip on the drink, lifted it to her lips ,and took a swig. She gulped down every last drop and slammed the glass back down on the counter, all in one swift motion. She beckoned to MiruJan, holding out the empty glass. "More,"

"No, Grace, that was your third glass. I'm not giving you any more." The barman replied, refusing. He shook the beer bottle, trying to estimate how much was left. He was running out and the beer Grace was drinking was only supposed to be for special occasions.

As if Grace hadn't heard, she still held out her glass, slightly shaking it. "I'm still thirsty."

"Drinking so much alcohol isn't healthy, Grace. It may be a stress-reliever, but it's only temporary. Just please, do something else to take your mind off." MiruJan regarded the ice-make wizard, his lips pursed into a thin line.

"It's my fault. It's my fault." The ice-make mage whispered repeatedly. "Juvio's gone and it's my fault."

"Grace, please," MiruJan said desperately. "We're all worried, but Master has said for us to wait. She's consulting with the Council."

"I don't want to wait! Just give me the damn drink!" The ice mage seethed angrily. She pierced MiruJan with a threatening gaze.

Not having any other choice, MiruJan simply poured the clear liquid into Grace's glass. Once it was filled to the brim, she chugged everything down AGAIN, wishing so desperately to forget all her problems.

MiruJan could only gaze at her, biting his lip.

Natsumi strolled through downtown Magnolia, her eyes flitting to the stores and shops that she passed by. Her arms were crossed behind her head, and her salmon hair fluttered up and down with the wind. After a few hours of rest in Luke's house, he STILL wasn't back. She tilted her face up, staring at the cloudless sky. She wished that she were still in Earthland, going on a mission with Happy and Lucy. But everything was just so jumbled up. She wiped all thoughts from her mind and scolded herself, _Just stop thinking. It's weird_**_. _**So she shrugged it off and settled on heading over to the guild hq to pick up a quest paper. She turned on one heel and started for the other direction- and tripped.

"Agh!" Her back hit the hard ground and she gritted her teeth. "Who the he-" She whirled her head around to see a dog. A _blue_ dog. Natsumi spoke the first word she thought of.

"HAPPY?!" She shrieked, scurrying away from the canine. Her eyes searched the blue dog, wondering what the hell was going on exactly.

"Natsumi! I've been looking for you. I was giving Carla a fish, so sorry if I was late," Happy said. He still spoke with the same voice, and he still seemed to be male. _Geesh, and I thought this world was gender bent!_****She thought, staring at Happy's dog form. He had fluffy puppy ears, and a wagging tail (of course, the old Happy had a tail, but it didn't wag that much. . ). He had no whiskers, but he had a snout, which vaguely disturbed Natsumi. His pupils were still black and large, and he still had his green backpack on, which usually concealed his Fairy Tail guild mark.

"Uh, right, I was going to look at the quest bulletin," Natsumi stood up and brushed the dirt off her shorts and vest.

"Ooh, let's go!" Happy sprouted his wings, and flew ahead of the fire dragon slayer. The dog exceed turned around, still floating in midair. "Coming, Natsumi?"

"Sure. . . " Natsumi said uncertainly, his thoughts still jumbled. She supposed she had to go with it, seeming they were going to be stuck in the gender bent world for a while. She ran to catch up with the dog exceed.

"Oh, Natsumi, is Luke okay?" Happy asked, worriedly once Natsumi and he were going at a steady pace.

Natsumi stiffened for a moment, but replied, "Yeah, she's okay."

"Good," Happy sighed mournfully, his wings drooping. "With Juvio gone-"

"Wait, what?" Natsumi swiveled his head and stared at the blue dog. "Juvia's GONE?!"

The blue canine shook his head and his puppy ears flapped. "No-no-no, _Juvio_, Natsumi. Don't get his name wrong."

The fire dragon slayer was grief-stricken. How was that possible? Juvia was gone? She wasn't sure why she felt alarmed, but. . . _Gray_.****She grabbed the dog exceed's tiny shoulders, and shook them. "WHERE'S GRAY?!"

"Grace, Natsumi." The dog said clicking his own tongue. "Stop getting it wrong."

"Gray, GRACE, WHAT EVER! WHERE IS SHE?!"

The dog exceed was clearly becoming dazed, and his wings disappeared and he dropped to the ground. Happy rubbed his own head. "She's at the guild."

Natsumi gritted her teeth, and darted off, heading for the guild.

"Ah, she ditched me," Happy mumbled.

Natsumi grabbed the door handles to the guild hq and pulled them with all her might. The doors flung outward, to her success, and she jumped inside. "Gray! Uh-I mean-GRACE!" The doors slammed shut behind her.

"Ugh, what?!" Grace snapped from a hidden corner in the guild.

"Come out, bastard!" She yelled, her hands exploded into flames.

"I'm a GIRL, Natsumi," Grace came into view, her arms crossed and a dreadful expression pasted on her face.

"Well, first things first," Natsumi's flames diminished as she pointed a finger at her chest. "You're topless."

The ice-make wizard stiffened, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I-I'll be back-" And she literally sprinted away from sight.

Natsumi sighed, and her left foot tapped against the wooden floor.

**Sorry for ending it here, but hey, I promise I will update sooner the next time. I highly appreciate reviews ^_^ **


	6. What's Going On?

**Sorry, you're probably pacing back and forth waiting for the next update of Natsu Does Not Approve. . (lol yeah right) and I apologize for that . I got an idea for a one-shot, and a GaLe fanfic. So it's been rough xD But I got to squeeze in this chapter for yuh guys. It's going to be action and drama from now on :D **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Natsumi grabbed the door handles to the guild hq and pulled them with all her might. The doors flung outward, to her success, and she jumped inside. "Gray! Uh-I mean-GRACE!" The doors slammed shut behind her.

"Ugh, what?!" Grace snapped from a hidden corner in the guild.

"Come out, bastard!" She yelled, her hands exploded into flames.

"I'm a GIRL, Natsumi," Grace came into view, her arms crossed and a dreadful expression pasted on her face.

"Well, first things first," Natsumi's flames diminished as she pointed a finger at her chest. "You're topless."

The ice-make wizard stiffened, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I-I'll be back-" And she literally sprinted away from sight.

Natsumi sighed, and her left foot tapped against the wooden floor. "Done yet?"

"Done," Grace fumbled the shirt over her head, and sighed in satisfaction. "Okay, so what's with you flame-head? Where have you been, huh?"

"I want to know where Juvio is," Natsumi said in response, loud and clear. She could feel the guild members turning their heads and widening their eyes at such a question.

Grace stared at the fire dragon slayer, perhaps still processing what she had said. Then, an expression of fury crossed her face. "You idiot, you really don't remember?"

"I want to know! Juvio is missing, isn't he?" The fire mage insisted, clenching her fists and planting her feet firmly on the ground. "Why aren't you searching for him?"

"It's none of your damn business!" Grace shouted angrily.

"It's my business if I was THERE! It's my business if it's my guild mate! So technically, it's everyone's business!" Natsumi spread out her arms for emphasis. It was now completely silent, every single person listening in on the conversation. "So why aren't we looking for him?! Huh?!"

"He's gone," Maxine Alors stepped forward, and her lips were pressed into a thin line.

"W-What?" A feeling of angst crept into Natsumi. "What are you-"

Grace's eyes flitted to Maxine. "Maxine-"

"Juvio's dead." Maxine said simply, her voice ringing throughout the entire guild headquarters. Ultimate dread filled the fire dragon slayer. Juvia. . . was dead in this world?! How was that even possible?! She might had been annoying, constantly stalking Gray and doing strange and abnormal things. But, what about Gray? How would he feel about this in Earthland? Could the real Juvia be dead?

Natsumi stared at the sand mage in horror. The terrible thoughts were swirling in her mind like a cyclone. "That-That can't be possible! Juvio's strong, isn't he?"

"He is," Grace said wearily, still glancing multiple times at Maxine. "But. . . he's gone."

"Yeah, unfortunately." Maxine said, with a monotone.

Natsumi's eyebrows creased at this. Maxine was speaking with such. . . indifference. Yes. _What the hell's her_ _problem?_ Natsumi thought irritably. _Doesn't she feel bad or anything?_

Then she spotted Grace doing. . . things. Was she making weird gestures? Grace had a desperate expression on her face, shaking her head and moved her hands in a bird-like motion. She was mouthing something. What was it? Mow? Row? Glow?

The fire dragon slayer lifted her shoulders at Grace's strange antics. Grace palmed her own face. She mouthed the word one last time, with much emphasis.

Realization hit Natsumi. _No_. She had been mouthing _no_. But why? Not wanting to give Grace away, she faced Maxine, thinking of something else to say. "D-Did I miss that much?" She blurted, saying the first thing that popped out of her head.

"Apparently," Maxine said in distastefulness, although _still_ in monotone.

Grace was making gestures again. She flicked her wrist towards herself, and pointed to the guild doors.

"Uh, okay, that sucks," She glanced at the ice-make mage again. "But, I got to go on-uh-a mission with Grace."

The ice mage nodded rapidly, and pointed to the guild doors again.

"Let's go, Grace," Natsumi said in a fake cheerful voice. God, she felt stupid.

"Okay, Natsumi," Grace said in a normal voice. Each of their footsteps sounded through the whole guild, and Natsumi could feel every one of her guild mates gazing at the backs of their heads. Grace led them out of the guild headquarters, the loud silence still lingering in the air.

As soon as they were outside, Natsumi punched Grace's shoulder.

"What the hell?!" Grace screeched. She shoved the fire mage in return. "What was that for?!"

"If anything, I should be saying what the hell! What's going on here, Grace?!" Natsumi snapped back, piercing the ice mage with her furious gaze.

Grace exhaled, and tucked her hands in her pockets. Without them realizing it, they both started to walk. "At the mission. . . it was just the four of us." The ice-make wizard spoke. "Me, You, Luke, and Ezra."

Natsumi nodded slowly, listening to every word.

Grace continued, "It-It was dangerous. It was like that time when we went on that S-Class quest for Galuna Island. But it was. . " Her eyebrows creased, and she was clearly deep in thought. "I can't remember every detail. It was messed up. We had to go through portals, that led to different. ." She paused, frowning. "Different. . . places. Ugh, I can't remember-" She knocked her own head, as if she wished all her memories would return to her. "But Juvio was there, and he followed us. We-We were fighting a monster, and Juvio just came out of nowhere." She gritted her teeth. "I should've known he'd follow us! The monster pointed a finger at him and he just disappeared! Just like that!" Her voice was trembling, as she continued to speak. "The monster pointed at us too, and we all returned to Magnolia. Except for Juvio. . . " She sighed shakily, and tried to even out her own breath. "It-It was my fault. When we got back, Luke passed out from the transportation."

Natsumi gazed down at her moving feet, remembering how Luke had been unconscious on the guild floor. Natsumi walked in silence, taking in everything else the ice-make wizard had said. She took a glance at Grace. Natsumi saw a single tear trickle down her cheek. The fire dragon slayer pursed her lips, and averted her gaze, not wanting to see Grace cry.

"That doesn't explain how she's dead." Natsumi said finally, because it was true. If they had all been safely transported, then there should be a possibility that Juvio's still alive, right?

"It doesn't." Grace agreed. Her voice dropped to a murmur. "Cause he's not."

Natsumi froze in her tracks, and rapidly swiveled her head to stare at Grace. "WHAT?!" She bellowed so loudly that some of the Magnolia townsfolk looked at her.

"He's not dead," Grace's arms were swaying at her sides. On her face was sadness, but a tinge of certainty. "That monster had the ability to only teleport people, and that's what it did to us. Juvio's somewhere, and I need to find him."

"But, the guild." Natsumi persisted. "Did you convince them that Juvio was dead?!"

"No, baka, I wouldn't do that." Grace folded her arms across her chest, a frown tugging at the corner of her lip.

"Then who did?"

"I don't know," Grace shook her head and gnawed on her bottom lip. "What you saw Maxine do back there? It was strange, huh?"

"Heck, yeah," Natsumi rolled her eyes. "She was speaking in a freaking monotone. I thought I was going to pass out by how boring she sounded."

"That's not the point. . . "

"Right!" Natsumi straightened.

"I think there's something wrong with the guild though." Grace sighed, and rubbed the back of her head. "Or at least some of the guild. MiraJan sounded perfectly normal when he served me a drink."

"Hmmm," The fire dragon slayer stroked her chin, thinking hard. "Maybe that monster did something. . . "

"Maybe." The ice-make wizard blinked, as if a thought struck her. "We should find Ezra and Luke. They should be unaffected by whatever happened to the guild."

"Luke?" The fire mage gritted her teeth. "I don't know. He's probably in the LIBRARY."

"Alright," Grace gazed at Natsumi with a funny look, but started to stroll in a fast-pace. "Let's find him first."

"Yippee," Natsumi muttered in disdain.

* * *

**ooh, what's going to happen next?! Stay tuned and review~!**


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